Crimson Night
by vampyfreak
Summary: His body spasms irritably, as the blood is sucked from his veins, his thoughts becoming intoxicated by an agonising pain as she digs her teeth further into his flesh. Limp!Sam and lots of Dean angst.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own anything except Sadie.

A/N: This is by no means a romance fic, don't be put off by the girl, I'm completely on side with everyone who hates female characters taking the spotlight.

**Crimson Night**

_And if they get me and the sun goes down into the ground_

_And if they get me take this spike to my heart and…_

_And if they get me take this spike and…_

_You put the spike in my heart._

The loud music thumps painfully through Sam's head, making it nearly impossible to concentrate on the newspaper spread out in front of him. He's been searching through all the local papers for nearly two hours and is yet to find a single red flag. A sigh of frustration, or perhaps relief, escapes the young hunter's lips and folding the paper up, Sam finally decides to give in, thinking that maybe Dean's right about this place. It's clean, but not too clean, just supernatural free.

Dean and him had just finished a particularly rough hunt a few towns over, so the older brother declared that they needed a night off to relax. Of course clubbing is by no means Sam's idea of relaxing, but Dean being Dean didn't give his little brother much choice in the matter.

Glancing around the club, it doesn't take Sam long to spot the older hunter, who in normal Dean fashion is flirting with the barmaid, and judging by the wide smile covering her features, she's loving every minute of it.

Boredom setting in, Sam starts calculating how long it would take to walk back to the motel. He'd probably make the distance before Dean even thought about leaving, though he doubts his brother is planing on going anywhere without his new female companion.

Deciding he'll take his chances and leave, Sam's just about to get up off his seat when a voice distracts him from his actions.

"Hi."

Glancing up, Sam's surprised to find himself staring up into the deep green eyes of an attractive woman. "Umm, hi," he replies, waiting for her to extend her greeting.

The woman laughs nervously. "Do you mind if I sit with you?" She asks, appearing as though she's expecting a no, but Sam nods yes, and she gratefully takes the seat opposite him. "Thanks, my friends kind of ditched me, and I don't want to stand around alone." She smiles sweetly, and extends her hand, "I'm Sadie."

The hunter returns her smile. "Sam," he replies, taking the offered hand, "I like your hair," he adds, referring to the blue streaks amongst her short black locks, "it's different."

Sadie laughs again, but this time it feels more causal. "Yeah, I'm not big on following crowds, obviously except when it means I'm standing alone."

For some reason the young hunter instantly relaxes in the woman's presence, suddenly feeling like sticking around may not be such a bad idea.

"So why did your friends ditch you?" he enquires, keeping the flow of conversation going, actually interested in getting to know the young women. Sam's always found it easy to connect with people; he can start up a conversation with nearly anyone, he makes friends quickly, and everybody at his school seems to like him. But Sam has trust issues, growing up in the life he's had he's been taught to be cautious, to be guarded and not let people in. Letting people in means questions, and there's so much about his life that needs to remain a secret, there's too many details that could accidentally slip out.

And then there's Jess, but he can't go there.

"They said they wanted to get a bite to eat, so I turn to finish my drink and when I look back they'd gone. Great friends huh?" She affirms, absentmindedly fiddling with her bag. "So why were you alone tonight?"

Shaking himself from his depressing thoughts, the hunter falls back into the conversation. "My brother and I are just passing through, Dean," Sam gestures over to where his brother and the barmaid are still sitting, "decided we needed time out to relax."

Sadie, who had followed Sam's indication over to Dean, turns her attention back to the younger Winchester. "So you go clubbing?" She asks dubiously.

"Yeah," Sam nods, still not understanding his brother's logic, "not exactly my idea of a night off either."

----

As Lucia excuses herself to serve a customer, and of course after he tears his eyes away from her retreating figure, Dean casts a glance about the club in search of his little brother. Expecting to find someone sitting alone, the older brother can't help the brazen grin that crosses his features when he spots Sam sitting in the company of a woman, who he'd definitely put in the hot category. _Go Sammy._ His grin widens when the woman grabs Sam's arm, and leans in closer towards him.

Instantly flashes of Iowa enter his mind, and he can't help but think this may end the same way. Sam seemed to really like that Lori girl, but he wouldn't allow himself to go there, Jess' memory still burning too deep. Maybe with a bit of luck and a lot more alcohol, this time Sammy might actually get laid, then hopefully he'll stop being such a wet blanket.

Sam smiles brightly at her, then getting up strolls over in Dean's direction. At first the older brother thought the gig might be up already, but at the vibrant grin following Sam away he's guessing he was wrong.

"Hey Sammy, who's the girl?' Dean greets, the moment his brother's in range.

Sam shoots a glimpse back at the table before turning his grin to Dean. "Sadie, I'm keeping her company until her friends get back."

"I'm sure you are." The ambiguous comment slips from his mouth.

Sam drops his smile to send his brother a glare in reply, but is obviously in too high spirits to keep it there, as a smirk soon shots back across his features. Signalling to Lucia, she immediately comes over and takes Sam's order.

At seeing his brother happy, and clearly enjoying himself, Dean just has to rub it in; after all it is a rare sight these days. "See, clubbing wasn't such a bad idea after all," he triumphantly declares, glancing towards Sadie, "like I've been telling you for years, the big brother's always right."

Sam smirks and accepts his drinks. "I'll see you later."

"Much later," Dean adds, checking out his own girl, "much, much later."

As Sam turns to leave, Dean scowls noticing Lucia's eyes flicker over his brother, but as her full attention is back on him, Sam's instantly forgotten by both.

----

"Huh?" Sam grunts, leaning his buzzing head into his palms.

"I said are you ok?" Sadie asks, concern evident across her pretty features.

Sam snaps out of his daze, trying to concentrate on her words. "Umm, yeah, I, I think I had too much to drink." Actually he can barely recall what they've been doing for the past two hours, well other than wasting away Dean's not so hard earned money.

"You and me both," she giggles, "maybe we should call it a night."

Sam's gaze skims, blurry eyed across the club in search of his brother, eventually spotting him on the dance floor, the barmaid wrapped around him with not much dancing actually being done. "I don't think my rides ready to go," he declares, turning to Sadie.

"Ok then, let's go for a walk," she quickly stands, holding out her hand, "the fresh air might sober us up a bit."

Nodding in agreement, the hunter climbs unsteadily to his feet, and grasping her out stretched hand, the couple slowly and awkwardly cover the distance to the door.

The cool night air instantly hits the youngest Winchester, a refreshing change from the club's stuffy atmosphere and he greedily breathes it in.

Suddenly Sam's vision blurs completely, and in his shock his body to forget it's supposed to be standing, and he topples to the side. Sadie's grip on his hand tightens, her free arm quickly wrapping around his waist, trying to support his weight. "Whoa, you don't want to do that," she states, actually managing to steady the 6'4 hunter and help him back on his feet.

"Thans," he slurs, trying to gulp down the growing need to empty his stomach, he really didn't think he'd had that much.

"Come on, let's keep moving," she coaxes. Keeping her arm around his waist and a hand clutching his forearm, she guides him down the quiet, deserted street.

Some small part of Sam is screaming at him, warning him, telling him that something's not right, but this happens every time he gets close to a girl. He still feels like he's betraying Jessica.

New waves of nausea halt his thoughts, spinning his vision and adding to the intense pounding in his head. His body is exhausted; he just wants to get back to the motel and sleep.

"We're here."

Sadie's cheerful tone causes him to glance up and focus on what's in front of him. After waiting for his vision to clear, he's able to distinguish a motel room door. _That'll do._ Of course he's not so messed up that he doesn't know why Sadie brought him here, but he is messed up enough to be able to ignore the little voice in his head.

The moment the door closes behind them, Sam finds himself slammed up against it, Sadie's lips locking with his, her tongue invading his mouth. Once the initial shock passes, and Sam's upstairs brain switches off, he deepens the kiss, his arms wrapping around her, and pulling her body closer.

"Now, this is where the fun starts," she mutters seductively in his ear, her words sending a shiver down his spine.

She traces her lips down his neck, her hands roaming his body, finding their way underneath his shirt. A groan escape's Sam's mouth as she thrusts into him, her hands grapping hold of the shirt and tearing it open, exposing his bare chest.

The hunter rubs his hands along her body, moving smoothly over her skin, and up toward the bra strap, their lips connecting once more. Sadie sinks deeper into his embrace, moaning into Sam's mouth, as her body is pulled even tighter against him. She breaks the contact on their lips, both gasp at the sudden oxygen, but Sadie doesn't take the time to enjoy it, as she moves back in. A shudder rakes through Sam's body as her lips softy tickle their way down his neck, stopping only when two tiny needle like spears penetrate deep into his flesh.

"Ah!" Sam cries out and jerks back, at the sudden pain shooting down his neck. "W-what?" His fogy mind's not able to comprehend what happened.

Sadie pulls back, revealing startling yellow eyes, and long white fangs. _Shit_.

"Get off me!" he yells, instantly realising the danger he's in, and propels himself forward off the door, trying desperately to escape her grasp.

"Thud!"

Pain spikes up across his body as Sadie easily thrusts him back into the door, her vampiric strength, no match for his weakening state. His fear grows by the second, his heart pumping violently against his chest, as his actions of struggle prove futile.

"What did you do to me," he asks, suddenly aware that the alcohol he'd consumed shouldn't have had this kind of effect.

An evil smirk spreads across her features, "I just slipped you a little something to make all this easier." She lovingly stokes a finger down his check, grinning wickedly. "Come on baby, I just wanna play."

Recoiling from her touch, panic sets in. 'O_h god she's going to kill me,_' the little voice in his head screams, but is instantly silenced by another voice, a voice with a surprisingly Dean-like tone, _sure can pick em'._ Ignoring both voices Sam let's his hunter instincts win out, hoping they aren't dimmed by whatever she'd the drugged him with. Taking deep breaths, he attempts to calm himself and mentally work through his options, which is proving unusually difficult due to the fuzzy smudge covering his brain. Finally realising thinking this through just isn't going to work, Sam does the one thing he can. He acts.

Quickly, he falls into hunter mode, ducking down, Sam slips under her arms and once out of her grasp, sends a swift kick to her torso, a satisfied grin coating his features as she yells out, staggering back. "What do you know, the Dean method actually works," he mutters, happy to finally have made some progress.

Taking a defence stance, Sam braces himself as Sadie all too quickly regains her balance.

"You shouldn't have gone that." Snarling viciously, she dives, colliding roughly with the hunter and knocking them both to the floor, Sam's long legs taking out a nearby lamp in the process, sending it shattering along side them.

Not letting her gain the upper hand, Sam immediately spins them around, pinning the vampire to the ground and delivering a few hard punches to her face. Realising this is no way to kill a vamp, his eyes dart desperately around the room searching for anything that could help him, while trying to hold his position over her.

Suddenly, before he can react, Sadie propels herself from the floor, swinging violently up and heaving Sam off her. The young hunter hits the floor with a grunt, his head spinning at the jolt and exhaustion once again sweeping across his body, but ignoring the overwhelming urge to stay down, he quickly pulls himself back to his feet.

Stretching his hands out to steady his shaky legs, Sam gulps back as his nausea catches up with him, threatening to overcome him as his vision becomes momentarily fuzzy. _'Not now!'_

The distraction is all Sadie needs, as she instantly pounces, sending the hunter crashing into the wall, firmly restraining him in place. "There, now I don't want you to do that again," she orders, closing the gap between them, effectively pinning him to the wall, "you'll ruin the game."

Disappointment rings through Sam's mind as he realises his struggle was for nothing, he's in the same position as when he started, only now he's _sure_ he won't be able to escape, feeling like that at any moment he might drop.

Feeling his once tense muscles relax, he knows his body is giving up. The pain in his neck has turned into a dull throb, but he can feel the warm liquid seeping from the open wound.

He numbly watches as Sadie's eyes follow the trail of blood in awe; she appears almost hypnotised, as though she's never even seen a drop. The hungry vampire brings her mouth back down towards his neck, breathing in his scent. "God, honey you smell good." She presses her mouth over the wound, and Sam winces, actually being able to feel the blood rushing from his body.

She draws away again, probably enjoying the fear in his eyes and wanting to remember every second of it. "Damn I needed this."

It can't end like this, he's been through so much, faced a lot worse evil, surely this can't be how it ends. Abruptly changing his mind the hunter again attempts to rake his brain for a plan of escape, anything to get him out of this situation, but he doesn't have a weapon on him, and he wouldn't have the time to reach for his phone. His only hope is Dean, but his brother's so busy with his girl, he probably hasn't even noticed Sam's absence yet.

New pain flares through his body, alerting him that she's back at the wound. Sam can hear his once pounding heart growing weaker by the second, his already exhausted body, getting heavy, slowly sinking to the floor. Losing grip on him, Sadie allows him to fall.

Siding down the wall, he hits the ground, with a light bump, thankful to be off his feet. He realises this may be his last change to escape, but he's so tired, can can't even find the strength to lift his limbs, let alone fight off a hungry vamp. Suddenly images of his brother shove their way into his head, and Sam knows he can't give up, what would his Dad and Dean think of him if he just sat here and let this bitch kill him? Giving up is not the Winchester way.

With renewed strength, the young hunter kicks out at the exposed legs in front of him, delighted when he makes contact, sending Sadie flying to the ground, her head hitting the floor with a sickening smack.

Unfortunately she doesn't stay down for the count, almost instantly springing back to her feet. "That's a bad boy," she snarls, whacking Sam hard across the check, roughly jarring his head back against the wall. "I guess I'm not going to get the change to play with you." She smirks, desire flickering within her eyes, "Such a waste."

The young hunter ignores the additional pain and stares numbly up at her blurry face, shallowing back the betrayal looming in his mind, masking his hurt perfectly with anger and disgust.

She glares down at him, most likely still pissed about her little trip, and as she leans down towards him, Sam wishes he could find the energy to react.

"But you know honey," she whispers sweetly into his ear, "maybe I can fix that."

Before her words can register, she grabs him by the collar of his shirt, and lifting him up, she throws him down on the nearby bed. Hitting the soft mattress, the hunter immediately attempts to haul himself up, not likely the vulnerability lying down provides, but before he can sit up, Sadie's on top of him, saddling his body, and pushing him flat on the bed. Licking the blood smeared across her lips, she leans right over him, their noses only inches apart, her eyes locking with his, trying to intensify his fear.

Sam twitches, terror radiating from his body, and knowing it's probably emphasised in his eyes, he turns away, not wanting to give her the satisfaction. He knows he doesn't have much longer before all coherent thoughts abandon him, but for the life of him, there's only one thing going through his mind. _Dean_. His brother isn't going to know what happened, what if Sadie turns him, and he tries to kill Dean? God, he can't let that happen, he'd rather die right here and now than be responsible for his big brother's death.

His body spasms irritably, as the blood is sucked from his veins, his thoughts becoming intoxicated by an agonising pain as she digs her teeth further into his flesh. His pulse slows right down, breathing becomes a desperate struggle, his lungs burning for air, but his body too weak to supply. His vision turns into a spinning mess, before all light fades, and he's left staring into darkness.

"That's it sweetie, nearly done."

The sing-song words echo through his mind, but hold no meaning as it begins to shut down, all his senses are suddenly gone, and nothing but a dark mass surrounds him, engulfing him whole.

----

Dean groggily opens his sleep-hazed eyes, but instantly snaps them shut as an intense light floods his senses. A small groan escapes his lips as the hunter drags his unwilling body from the bed, being careful not to stir Lucia.

Sitting on the edge of the mattress the Winchester, rakes his hands through his dishevelled hair, wishing away the intense pounding against his skull, a constant reminder of how much he actually had to drink the night before.

In an attempt to block out the pain, the older brother's thoughts flicker to the family's youngest member, wondering how Sam's night went, well, wondering if he chickened out and ditched the girl. Assuming he probably did, the hunter shakes his head in a disapproving manner, instantly regretting it as his vision spins, causing nausea to rise. Gulping it back down, Dean quickly tugs on his clothes, and grabbing his cell and keys; he quietly heads out the door. Checking his messages, he finds nothing from Sam; so drives straight back to the motel, expecting to pick his brother up and on his stomach's orders, grab some much needed breakfast.

Arriving at their current 'home' Dean's surprised to find that his little brother hasn't made it back yet. _Must have had a good night._ Glancing at the time, his phone reads 10:45, that's a bit late for a sleep in, especially for Sam.

An anxious tinge settles over the older brother, and letting his worry getting the better of him, he quickly dials his brother's number, subconsciously holding his breath in anticipation for Sam's voice.

Voicemail clicks on and Dean can feel his heart sink, his worry suddenly morphing into fear. It's quite possible that he's over reacting, Sam could have easily over slept, or has just lost track of time, _I mean she was pretty hot_, but years in their kind of work has made Dean paranoid, and his mind won't be settled until he sees his little brother safe and sound. Then he can kill him for not calling or answering his phone.

Realising it would be stupid to go searching the whole town just because Sam isn't 'home,' the older brother has taken to pacing restlessly up and down the tiny room, his ears alert for any approaching footsteps, the hangover long forgotten. His eyes flutter down to his cell every few seconds, checking the time, and if there's any messages he might have missed. Ok, so yes, he's almost certainly over reacting, but when it comes to his little brother that's just the way he is. Sammy is Dean's responsibility, that's the way it's always been, the words 'watch out for Sammy' were drilled into his mind from an early age and he's never forgotten them, no matter how old they've gotten. He's overprotective, always has been, and nothing, not even death itself will change that.

Finally getting sick of the four walls surrounding him, the stir-crazy hunter snatches his keys up off the nightstand, and bolts out the door. If Sam's not going to come to him, he'll just have to go to Sammy, wherever that might be. Someone at the club would have had to have seen his brother or that girl, maybe she's a regular, someone might know where to find her. With his destination decided, the Impala soon speeds of down the road.

Exciting the club Dean's heart feels slightly lighter now that he has a lead on where Sam might be. The owner of the club, the only person currently occupying it, had said that Sadie and a group of friends have been coming in every night for the last week, apparently they've been travelling around a lot and wanted a decent stay in one place. It's not much to go on, but hey, it's more than he had before. Now he just has to check all the motels in the area, and hope she isn't staying with a local resident.

Parking outside his third motel, Dean's spirits are slowly becoming despondent as he climbs out of the Impala. All the same, new hope fulls him as he instantly scans the area for a familiar face, or at least someone to question, being very thankful at this point that both Sam and Sadie are pretty easy to describe. It's now about 11:30, and the older brother believes his actions are now just, there's no way Sam should or would go this long without contacting Dean to let him know where he is, something must have happened. Gulping back his growing anxiety, and shoving aside all horror filled thoughts, the hunter briskly marches over to the reception office.

About half way through Dean's ascend to reception; the rumble of an engine draws the hunter's attention, halting his steps, as a strangely familiar vehicle pulls up to the parking lot.

"Bobby" Dean yells while jogging up to his Dad's friend, having recognised his fellow hunter the moment the other man stepped out. The older Winchester can't help but feel somewhat relieved, thinking he might be able to get a hand in tracking down his brother.

"Dean?" Bobby questions, clearly surprised by the younger man's presence.

Dean nods in response, a grin plastered over his features before suddenly turning serious. "You on a hunt?" Already knowing that Bobby would drop everything to find Sam, Dean's asking more out of curiosity, not having seen any red flags in the town.

"Yeah," the older man sighs, clearly exhausted, "I've been tracking a clan of vampires, sneaky little bastards keep getting away."

A sinking sensation emerges in Dean's stomach. "Vampires?" he shakily enquires, not wanting to believe the images assaulting his mind. "D-didn't happen to see a hot one with blue in her hair, did, did you?" he stumbles, praying desperately for a no.

Seeing the fear evident on Dean's face, the older hunter very hesitantly nods in a yes. "Why? What's happened?"

Dean can feel himself shattering, horror and shock overwhelming him, numbing his mind and filling his soul with heart wenching guilt. He let him down, the most important person in his life is probably gone, and it's entirely his fault, he was too busy messing around with some girl, and because of that, he's lost his baby brother.

Suddenly a voice of hope erupts in his head, _maybe I'm not too late, maybe he got away!_ God, he wishes it was true, Sam can't be dead, he can't and won't accept it, not until he has proof.

Another thought swiftly penetrates his mind, hitting him like a physical blow. Staggering back, he's vaguely aware of Bobby's hand on his shoulder, and sound, that most probably should be making words, emerging from his friend's mouth.

He'd forgotten one very important detail about vampires; one he wishes would stay buried. There's something much worse than simply being killed when these demons are involved, something horrifyingly worse, and as that information settles in, Dean comes to the horrific realisation that he may have to kill the one person he's sworn to protect, his little brother, _his Sammy_.

_Struck down, before our prime_

_Before, you got off the floor_

_Can you stake my heart? Can you stake my heart?_

_Can you stake me before the sun goes down? _

----------------------------------------------------------------

Is Sam dead? Is he a vampire? Or is that the end of the fic?

I really don't know, I keep changing my mind, but damn it feels good to be writing these kinds of fics again. This was my first Supernatural fic, so I'd love to hear how I did. I wrote this before I saw Dead Man's Blood (only just finished season one), so I'm not following the show's vampy rules.

Btw, the song is Vampires Will Never Hurt You by My Chemical Romance.

Thanks for reading!

vampyfreak


	2. Chapter 2

_28/07/07_

**Chapter 2**

_Can you take this spike?_

_Will it fill our hearts with thoughts of endless_

_Nighttime sky?_

_Can you take this spike?_

_Will it wash away this jet-black feeling?_

_God no, no…no._ This can't be happening, this has to be some kind of sick nightmare. Sammy can't be gone, he simply refuses to believe it, this is the little kid that he grew up with, the boy that he helped raise, who he has protected and kept safe all of his life…_until now_. _No, no_, something's messing with him, something's playing with his head, putting these pictures and ideas into his mind, trying to put him off his game, cause there is no way that this is real. So what he really should be thinking about is who or what would do this, they haven't started a hunt here, and everything that they have pissed off recently has wound up dead. It doesn't make any sense, no one could gain anything from making him think that his little brother is dead, it'll only piss _him_ off, and make him want to kill them even more, sure he'd probably be pretty sloppy about it, and yeah, would definitely be put off his game, but none of that matters because either way that thing would end up dead. So that really only leaves one thing…_reality._ Cold, harsh, real life strikes again.

Tears burn painfully in the older Winchester's eyes, but his hand quickly rises to clear them away, a renewed passion suddenly sparking within him.

Sam and him have been through so much together; it can't end, especially not at the hands of some stupid vampire, so there's no way that Dean's going to let it. Sam's not dead, and he hasn't been turned. They took him, and now his little brother is waiting for Dean to rescue him, and by no means is he going to let Sammy down.

Grabbing hold of his emotions, the older brother manages to pull himself together, and sucking back his anguish, he stands up straight, addressing Bobby.

"I'll help you." The words are cold and harsh, and hold no request, only a simple statement. He's going to find these demons, he's going to hunt them down, he's going to get Sam back and then make them pay for ever messing with his family.

"It's Sam isn't it", Bobby's dejected voice interrupts his thoughts, "you think they got him." It isn't a question, or if it is there is no need for an answer, one glance at the distraught older brother is all the evidence he needed.

Receiving his silent answer, the older hunter, precedes to inform Dean of what he knows, thankfully not bothering to waste time asking more questions. "I got an eye witness saying they spotted that blue-haired girl going into a room. It was a few nights ago, but I, um," he hesitates as though choosing his words," thought I'd try my luck."

Dean takes in the information, still feeling slightly numb. "What room?"

"Six." Bobby gestures in the general direction, and immediately Dean takes off running towards it. A little nagging voice deep inside of him is telling him that he's too late, that the chances of Sammy still being alive are dangerously slim. But the older brother pushes that voice aside, he's holding tightly to that chance, not capable of coping with the most likely outcome, and definitely far from believing it.

Shakily drawing his weapon, Dean sucks a deep breath in, the hunter having never been so frightened to merely open a door. Whatever is on the other side has the potential to send relief soaring through him, or drop him head first into a pool of grief, and for once, he's left completely helpless, only able to pray that it's the former.

Once again, forcing back his emotions, Dean lifts his leg and sends it pounding onto the wooden door, not even bothering to test if it was actually locked. The door swings open, smacking back against the wall with a loud bang.

Bobby's at his side, as both hunters cautiously make their way into the tiny room, only to find it completely empty. At first Dean just stands there, feeling numb and unable to determine if an empty room is a good or bad sign. No body is definitely good, but there's a couple more reason that make it extremely bad when dealing with vampires. Flickering his eyes over the wall, his gaze soon lands on something crimson coating the bed. _Blood._ Instantly, Dean can feel his own blood freeze in his veins as all of his suppressed emotions come flooding back to the surface, his anxiety, and fear tripled. Shock glues his eyes to that spot; it roots his feet to the floor, leaving him unable to do anything but stare lost in his thoughts.

He's vaguely aware of Bobby pushing past him. "There's dry stains as well," the older hunter announces after a moment, indicating that there have been past victims. "Looks like there might have been a struggle."

Snapping out of his trance, Dean gives the room other a quick sweep, this time noticing the smashed lamp and a small dent in the wall. A tiny smirk spreads across his face, _that's my boy, not going down without a fight_, but all too quickly the grim expression returns to the older Winchester's features.

"Do you know where she would have gone?" He questions, once again regaining control over his emotional turmoil.

"She would've gone somewhere dark to wait out the day."

Dean nods and turns to leave, feeling Bobby's eyes burning into him; he knows what's coming. "Look Dean," Bobby grabs his arm, halting his movement, "I can handle this, I'll make sure they all suffer, but it's probably best if you don't go."

Dean's eyes meet the older hunter's, their gazes locking. He's well aware of why. If Sam has been turned, it means he has to be killed, and Bobby doesn't trust Dean to do it, hell, Dean wouldn't trust himself to do it. There's no way he can kill his baby brother, even if it's not really Sammy, he'll look and sound exactly like the boy Dean has grown up with and that right there will be too much for the older brother to handle. But that's not going to happen because Sam's fine, so he's not sitting this one out. These demons took Sammy from him, there's no way he's going to sit back and let Bobby do the job, that by all rights should be his. He will save his brother, then have a damn good time ripping apart those who took him, nothing is going to stand between him and revenge, because no one messes with _his_ little brother.

"I don't think so," his eyes drift away from the other hunters and breaking the contact, Dean marches towards the Impala, "that bitch is mine."

----

A sudden bout of nausea rakes over the young Winchester, instantly jolting him from blissful unconsciousness. His eyes snap open, only to be met by the surrounding darkness, his ears alert for any sound, a clue to where he is, but again he receives nothing, just a disturbing silence. Searing pain tears down his neck, but he ignores it, immediately trying to pry his exhausted and heavy body away from the welcoming floor.

The hunter can't remember how he got here, he doesn't even know where 'here' is, but his instincts are screaming at him, telling him to get out, and get away from whoever brought him here.

Nausea rolls back over him, ceasing his thoughts and causing the young man to gag violently, but thankfully, it allows him to keep the contents of his stomach. Feeling sore, tired and sick, Sam can't help but wish his big brother was with him, he doesn't know if he's going to be able to get out of this situation by himself, and he'd feel a lot better knowing that Dean is at his side.

Finally managing, with a bit of a struggle, to heave himself up into a sitting position, Sam leans his head into his hands, trying to still his spinning vision and piece together his scrambled thoughts. _Sadie._ Images from the night before scratch their way into his mind, followed quickly by confusion. He's clearly still alive, not in the best condition, but breathing none the less. He can't understand why she didn't kill him; she drank from him, but left enough blood to live and surely he'd know if she'd turned him. Wouldn't there be some kind of blood lust, some sort of animal instincts ripping through him, but he feels nothing. Well, nothing like that anyway.

Deciding to leave it for now and concentrate on escaping, Sam does a quick scan of his surroundings, his eyes now adjusted to the dark and his vision has stilled. It doesn't take him long to realise he's in the back of a van, and judging from his current position, there doesn't seem to be anyone else in the vehicle.

Taking this opportunity to his advantage, Sam quickly shuffles over to the door and grasping the handle, he slides it slowly open, first checking for anyone standing outside. Satisfied he's still alone, the young hunter pulls his aching body from the van, placing his feet on the ground one by one and leaning against the cool metal until he's sure he can support his own weight.

Letting the cool air rinse over his body, Sam sucks in a deep breath, wondering how the hell he's going to get out of this mess, preferably in one piece. Struck by a sudden thought, or more of a desperate plea, he reaches into his pocket, but is not surprised to find it empty, his cell phone having clearly been removed. _Great._

Glancing around at his surroundings, which are only dully lit by the pale moonlight, he discovers he's no longer in the town, but in a forest, a dirt track only just visible. The Winchester knows that this escape is way too easy, and even with flashbacks from the Benders family crossing his mind, he realises that he can't afford to lose this opportunity, besides, it is possible that Sadie didn't expect him to wake up this soon.

Not wanting to waste any more time, the hunter begins a slow wobbly pace through the dense forest. Sam hopes he will be able to make it back to civilization without any conflict, but he knows Sadie brought him here for a reason and she's not about to let him just walk away. Keeping his senses alert, _as well as they can be given his current condition;_ the hunter lets his instincts control him, his ears listening intently for any sign of someone or something approaching.

Soon into his walk thoughts of Dean once again enter his still fogy mind. He really hopes that his brother is alright, that Sadie or one of her friends didn't hurt him, _what if the barmaid was a vampire too?_ Surely Dean would have figured it out if she was, but then again, once that upstairs brain switches off, it's pretty hard to get a string of coherent thoughts going.

His paranoia getting the better of him, Sam attempts to push those thoughts aside, wanting to concentrate instead on the positive, because when has his big brother actually ever let him down. If Dean can find him once out in the middle of nowhere, then surely he can do it again.

"Where do you think you're going?" Sam jumps, all thoughts dismissed, as out of nowhere a woman appears in front of him. She smirks evilly as two others, another woman and a man also appear, standing silently behind her, the same amused expression printed on their faces.

Sam remains quiet, trying to ignore his nerves while quickly formulating a plan, realising that these are probably the 'friends' that Sadie mentioned when they met.

"That's a bit rude," the male states, stepping closer to the first woman, "maybe you should kill him Carley, we could tell Sadie he was being difficult."

The hunter's gaze jerks towards the women, but is relieved to see both of them roll their eyes. "You're just pissed off you're not the only guy now, but you know it might be nice to have another one around," Carley reaches out to Sam, grabbing his arm before he has a chance to react, "I could definitely get used to him."

Wrenching his arm back, Sam glares in disgust at the three vampires in front of him. He knows trying to escape would be futile, three against one aren't good odds, and even if he did manage, by some miracle to take them down, he wouldn't get very far, giving Sadie plenty of time to catch up with him, so maybe instead he should concentrate on staying alive, just until Dean gets here. Which is hopefully soon, really soon, judging by the glare in the male's eyes.

Sam has no idea about how much time has past since he's been unconscious, but judging by the state he's feeling and the fact that it's night, he'd say it's closing in on twenty-four hours since he last saw his brother. Twenty-four hours. That means that Dean has had roughly twelve hours to look for him, so viewing the situation through a really positive outlook, Dean could to pretty close to finding him. But Sam doesn't know how far away from town they are, or if anyone saw them leave, Dean may have no leads what so ever on his disappearance.

Regardless to that fact, Sam knows that his brother will never give up searching for him. He can picture it now; Dean panicking, probably freaking out with worry and his usual over-protectiveness, a quality that the younger brother would otherwise find extremely annoying. But given their lifestyle, Sam understands his brother's constant need to know where he is, because even though it is frustrating, it's saved is ass more times than he can count. Sam can only hope that this time it'll be no different, that whatever happens Dean won't be too late, for both his sake, and his brother's.

The vamp standing with the male, probably his mate, moves to stand next to the other female, only inches away from Sam. She licks her lips, seductively running her hand along his arm, Sam for his part just let's her, keeping his _stay alive_ plan in mind, but staring angrily into her eyes. "He _is_ a cutie," she mutters to herself.

"Oh that's it!" The male suddenly snarls, wrenching the female back, and roughly grabbing Sam by the collar, "I don't care who you are," he growls, ploughing his fist into the hunter's face.

Caught off guard, the force of the punch sends Sam flying back as pain flares up along his cheek. Hitting ground with a heavy thud, the hunter winces, holding in any need to cry out. Making no move to regain his footing, due to exhaustion, and the realisation that he'll just end up on his ass again, it's the vampire who hauls him upward.

"You stay away from my girl," he hisses, and Sam braces himself for another pounding, or perhaps something worse, but to his shock, it never comes. Instead, a large meaty hand wraps it's way tightly around his arm, immediately cutting off the circulation, and begins dragging him roughly back the way he'd come.

----

The hunter let's the loud music wash over him as he enters the club, his eyes immediately scanning the room, searching desperately for their intended target.

After Dean had explained to the older man that his brother is _definitely_ alive, Bobby and him had spent the morning searching for leads on Sam's whereabouts, but time and time again they came up empty handed. By late afternoon they finally caught a break, and Dean was able to determine that Sam had been at the motel with Sadie the night before, a witness had said he appeared to be drunk, barely able to stand up. That's not like Sam, either Sam decided for once in his life to let loose or that bitch did something to him, but either way, Sam was in that room last night, meaning that that was his blood.

Anger boils inside the older brother, momentarily overcoming his anxiety and reinforcing his need to rip this demon in half. She will die, Dean has no doubt about that, but first he has to find her, so that's what he's doing at the club, staking it out, waiting for Sadie to show her face, while Bobby does the same with the motel room, apparently she's got it booked for a few more nights.

A few hours into the stake out and he spots her. His hand instantly takes a death grip on the table, as though that touch alone will restrain him to this spot, and it seems to, as right in that moment he uses some great force of control he never knew he possessed. All he wants to do is charge over there, haul her out of the bar and pummel her until she tells him where is brother is, then of cause he'll tie her up somewhere and finish the job properly later, cause he's got to let his anger out and a quick death is just way too good for her.

Taking deep breaths, Dean tries to calm himself down, realising he's getting extremely worked up, and knowing he's got a long wait ahead of him before he can unleash these emotions. Releasing the table, the hunter instead concentrates on the outcome, _getting his baby brother back_, knowing that the plan will only work if he waits. So keeping Sammy in mind, and his anger in check, Dean sits back, his intense gaze never faltering from the vampire.

Pure disgust swarms through his mind as he watches Sadie engross herself into a conversation with a young man, that same vibrant grin plastered over her face from when she sat with Sam. Guilt floods into the older brother, realising that she clearly pulled these moves on every guy, and that Dean had all but pushed Sam into her arms. It was his idea to come to the stupid club; it was him constantly nagging Sam to get laid, but he never thought that anything like this would happen. From now on he's going to be more careful, on one goes near his little brother until they've got Dean's approval, and that goes for everyone one, not just woman. Sam disappearing is becoming a way too common occurrence for the big brother's liking.

A gruelling hour passes before finally Sadie climbs off her seat and extends her hand for the man to take; he stumbles and is all but leaning on her as they make their way slowly to the door. His eyes glued to the couple, Dean immediately stalks after them.

"Brrng, brrng." The shrill ring of his cell phone interrupts his hunt and he quickly grabs for it, knowing it could only be one person.

"Bobby?" He questions, not intending for his voice to sound that desperate, but all the same he's praying for good news.

"Dean, I got one of them, she's just stepped into the motel room."

Anticipation along with a small amount of disappointment flashes into his mind. He doesn't know what he was expecting the other man to say, but he's guessing he won't be satisfied until Sam's been found. "Okay, I've got Sadie, she's with a guy, I'm guessing she's bringing him back to the motel, I'm going to wait until she's there to be sure."

"Now we're getting somewhere," Bobby's excited tone rushes through the line, "she just checked the room, now she's off again, I'm gonna follow her."

"You think she'll lead you to Sam?" Dean's tone is filled with hope.

"I don't know, but I'll take care of it," he pauses, but his tone isn't in hope like Dean's, it seems to be filled with dread, "you just worry about killing her, I'll… we'll meet up later."

Before Dean has a chance to reply, the other man hangs up, and suddenly, he realises that Bobby still doesn't think Sam's alive. Regardless to what Dean has said the older hunter is completely convinced that Sam has been turned, he's going there intending to kill Dean's little brother.

Anger boils within him, a deep loathing pointed directly at the supposed friend, _how could he think that? _As he briefly pounders the question, some of the older brother's denial slowly sweeps away, clearing the fog from his mind and allowing him to see the more obvious truth, _it makes sense, they're vampires._ Dread now overcomes the anger, knowing that Bobby is only trying to spare him some pain, but now he's not so sure if he wants that female vamp to lead the older hunter to Sam. He knows that Bobby won't hesitate to kill his brother and that thought hurts him like nothing he's ever felt.

But it won't come to that, Bobby doesn't know Sam like Dean does, Sammy wouldn't let some vampire get the better of him, _no way,_ he's got more fight in him than that.

Keeping close to the shadows and far enough away as to not be spotted, Dean silently follows them to the motel. Disappointment fills him as he realises that she's not going to lead him to his brother, but this still gives him a great opportunity to put into play the scenario that he's been so desperately awaiting.

Bobby had fixed the door after Dean had stomped it down earlier, not wanting Sadie to become suspicious of them. Working like a charm, she opens the door and guides the man inside without even noticing the roughly repaired damage. That's when Dean makes his move. Without giving it another thought he charges towards the door, all too eagerly kicking it in once more. Startled, Sadie instantly jumps up from the bed, where she had the young man pinned. Gleaming yellow eyes fixate themselves on him. "What the hell do you want," she snarls a moment later, after realising Dean's not scared of her vampiric appearance.

"I want to kill you," he yells aiming his wooden bullet filled gun towards the vampire's chest, "but first you're going to tell me what you did with my brother." Her eyes drop to the weapon grasped tightly in Dean's hands, then with a cool smirk takes a step closer.

"You're brother?" She questions, seeming to enjoying Dean's obvious anguish.

The hunter also steps forward, his gun taking a better aim towards her heart. "Sam. What did you do to him," he asks again, his tone demanding an answer.

Her smile brightens. "You're um, Dean isn't it? You're brother briefly mentioned you."

"Answer the question bitch, he's alive isn't he?" the older brother furiously growls.

"Who Sam? Yeah of course he is!"

_He's alive, Sammy is alive!_ Utter relief and unbelievable happiness overcome the hunter, even though he couldn't believe anything different it's still wonderful to have the reassurance, to actually hear her confirm how wrong Bobby is, he'd have to admit the older hunter did plant the seeds of doubt within his mind.

"But," her voice forces Dean from his happy reverie, "well I guess that depends on what your definition of alive is."

And just like that his world comes crashing down. Again.

"You, you turned him?" Dean stutters unable to comprehend this new information.

Her creepy smile never falters from her face. "Yes," Sadie replies focusing intently on Dean's features, "He's my new mate," she purrs, cocking her head to one side, "he had so much fight in him, it's so, so exhilarating." Her expressions turns to one of pure desire, making the older brother feel sick to his stomach.

"Whoa, so let me get this straight, you go to all this trouble to find my brother, and you turn him, then not a day later you're cheating on him? You really are a bitch," he states, still in shock, and barely aware of the words falling from his mouth.

A mixture of amusement and confusion cross her face. "What, with this guy?" she gestures half heartily over to the man lying on the bed. "He's just a snack," her face turns cruel once again, "maybe I'll bring him back and share him with Sam, my baby's got to make his first kill."

The man takes that moment to suddenly stir and sit groggily up. "Hey Sadie, what's going on, who's this guy?" He asks referring to Dean.

But the Winchester doesn't hear him; all he can hear are Sadie's words rushing around in his emotionally overloaded head. Sammy's gone, this bitch turned him, and is now boosting about how his little brother is hers. She took him from Dean, she probably made him suffer, Sam would have known what was happening, praying desperately for his brother to save him, only for him to never show. _Sammy, I'm so sorry._

Without giving a chance for another movement, Dean fires, the loud bang echoing off the close walls of the room. Unfortunately, Sadie had been ready, and not wasting any time, she jumps out of the way, resulting in the wooden bullet only lightly grazing her arm. Growling fiercely, she tackles the hunter to the ground, the force of impact causing Dean to lose his grip on the weapon, sending it skidding uselessly across the floor.

"Shit," he mutters realising that he's lost his advantage, and quickly ducking his head to the side, he only just manages to avoid becoming her newest meal. She tries again, this time Dean's not quite has fast, and winces has her teeth scrap across his neck. Not allowing her a third shot, the hunter skilfully rolls them over, unknowingly mirroring his brother's moves from the night before, and pinning roughly her to the floor. Being prepared for the fight, the Winchester removes a long wooden stake from within his jacket, and ploughs in deep within her flesh, aiming it directly through her neck.

"AHHH!" She screams in agony, her body thrashing beneath him, and Dean can only smile in satisfaction, knowing there's a lot more to come.

Suddenly regaining her composure, Sadie heaves Dean off of her, and springing to her feet, she yanks the stake from her body, another scream immediately erupting from her mouth. She snarls, tossing the stake angrily to the ground. Dean who had easily regained his footing stands in defence, but doesn't really expect an attack of any strength. His smirks still firmly in place, not the slightest bit bothered by the amount of pleasure he's getting out of watching her suffer. _She deserves this; I'll make her pay Sammy._

"My brother could have killed you, you're not so tough," he taunts; even more amused knowing that she can't reply, "that's why you had to drug him." His tone turns bitter on that last remark, no longer feeling like he's enjoying this, the pain of knowing he's lost Sam forever overcoming all other thoughts, and leaving him with an empty black hole.

Taking his distraction to her advantage, Sadie springs up at Dean and shoving him hard, she thrust him to the ground and races out the door.

Immediately climbing to his feet, the hunter attempts to follow her, only to find an empty parking lot. "Damn it," he curses, sorrow and self-loath filling his mind, he let her get away, he lost his chance to try and set things right, to kill her, and make her suffer like she did to his little brother. But he's got the rest of his life to hunt her down, and if that's what it takes, so be it. Grabbing his phone from his pocket, he quickly dials Bobby.

"Hello."

"Bobby, I lost her," he announces while sprinting back to the Impala parked outside of the club. "Where are you?"

Not three minutes later, the Impalas speeding down the road, heading towards Bobby's location and the rest of the vampires.

---

"Hey, where are they?" Dean enquires the moment he steps out of his car. Bobby gestures over to a dirt road winding through the start of a forest.

"The girl went through there not ten minutes ago, I followed her up to a van parked a few minutes walk in. We'll head in on foot."

Dean nods in agreement and both hunters stealthily sprint down the track, using only the moonlight to guide their way.

With each step he takes, Dean's heart grows heavier, knowing he's that much closer to facing the evadible, facing Sam. As much as it hurts him to say it, his baby brother is one of them, and he's got to remember that it's not really Sammy in that body, his Sammy is gone and now it's up to Dean to set things right. He knows what he has to do; he can't let that creature walk around with Sam's face, disgracing his memory. Until that job is finished everything else gets put on hold, no time for grief yet, no time for any emotions, just action.

The problem is, that if he looks into his brother's eyes, he'll only see his little brother, the one he failed to protect and there's no way he'll be able to kill him.

Faint voices cut through the air, silencing his thoughts. Both hunters slow right down and approach cautiously, knowing it'll only be seconds before they're detected.

His breath catches in his throat, as through a clearing, Dean spots an old van and surrounding it are three vampires… _and Sammy._

----

Sam leans his pounding head back against the cool metal of the van. The vamps had pulled him back here, explaining that they needed to wait for Sadie to return. The hunter's not sure if he wants her to come back or not, on one hand his guy seems like at any second he'll tear Sam apart, but on the other, if Sadie returns the result may be even worse. He has no idea what she has planned for him, but from what he's hearing it isn't death, or at least not yet, but whatever the reason it's definitely going to be bad.

Carley, slinks her way over to him, pulling his neck towards her mouth, he shudders as her wet tongue slithers over his skin, gently prodding the fresh wound left by Sadie. Too tired to do anything else, the hunter turns his gaze upward, his eyes locking onto a star barely visible amongst the clouded sky, while his mind prays desperately to be somewhere else, somewhere far away from these creatures, somewhere where his brother can find him. His body goes rigid, tensing up, as she pulls back, slowly sweeping her fingers down his face, and clutching his arm tightly just in case he tries to run, but still he does not evert his gaze. She leans in, her lips at his ear, "you're going to love it with us," she whispers, her words shooting a knife of dread into the young man as understanding finally settles.

----

Dean studies his little brother's figure, watching him as he leans back against the rusting vehicle, his eyes skyward as some bitch is all over him.

The other two watch as she pulls herself closer to him, one hand clutching his arm, the other lightly caressing his face. Leaning in she seems to whisper something in his ear, but none of that matters, for in that moment Dean snaps. That's not Sam, and it never will be again so there's only one thing he can do and he's got to act now, before it has a chance to react, to speak, to stare at him through Sammy's eyes.

Charging out of the bushes, he makes a beeline straight for his brother, startled, the female vamp conveniently moves out of the way, giving him a clear shot at his target. Without even thinking, Dean aims his weapon, and pulls the trigger.

_And you must keep your soul like a secret in your throat_

And if they come and get me… 

_And if, you put the spike in my heart._

------------------------------------------------------------------

Dean thinks Sam's been turned, Sadie has said he has, Sam's convinced he hasn't…who's right?

Left you on another cliffy, and I still didn't answer your questions, but at least now I know the answer. Oh yeah and Sam could die again.

Thanks for reading!

vampyfreak


	3. Chapter 3

Hey, look I'm back and it's only been about four months! I'm sorry about the wait, you may have realised by now I'm terrible with updates, so for my next fic –Darko- I'm not going to post it until it's finished (with the exception of the 1st chapter). Read on!

**Chapter 3**

_And if the sun comes up will it tear the skin right off our bones? _

_And then as razor sharp white teeth rip our necks._

_I saw you there._

---

"BANG!"

The blast echoes through the otherwise silent night air. Sam stands still, shock gluing his feet to the ground, as a split second later, something piercing sharp tears its way through his flesh.

"Ahhh!" The young hunter cries out, instinctively shooting a hand up over his newly wounded shoulder, as pain ripples intensely through his body. Already feeling groggy and weak, Sam's legs give way, causing his body to slide down, hitting the ground with a heavy plonk and jolting him full of additional agony. With the van at his back, still propping him up, Sam swallows back his pain and ignoring his once again swarming vision, he lifts his head, locking his confused and horror filled gaze with that of his attacker.

His brother.

"Dean?" he gasps, as another bout of agony draws over him. Dean doesn't reply, he doesn't even acknowledge that he heard Sam, he just continues staring, his expression hard, but filled with underlining guilt, sadness and…anger? Sam closes his eyes, not wanting to deal with the situation. _This must be a dream_, his thoughts conclude, in a desperate attempt to comfort him. Dean wouldn't shoot him, his brother would never hurt him, sure, he would lose his temper with him but that's pretty normal between siblings, but the guilt, the sadness? _Ah,_ Dean's emotions make no sense.

"AHHHHH!"

Sam's eyes snap open at the sound of an agonising scream, just in time to spot Bobby shoot the last of the three vampires, her petite form immediately erupting into a pile of dust. He hadn't even heard the others dying, or Bobby fighting them.

Sam numbly watches as the older hunter slowly makes his way over to Dean and places a hand on the Winchester's shoulder, both now watching Sam. He notices the tight grip Bobby has on his weapon, like at any second he's expecting to use it.

Momentarily forgetting the events from minutes before, Sam attempts to climb to his feet, realising that they're not going to come to him. He draws in deep, shaky breaths, willing the pain and exhaustion throughout his body to cease. The Winchester grabs onto the side of the van, and gulping back the agony creeping down his neck and across his upper torso, he managers to haul himself to his feet, clutching the cool vehicle tightly to uphold his balance, not really fancying a face-first downward plunge. Glancing up again he notices the seemingly large amount of ground between him and his big brother, and knows he doesn't have a chance of covering it. Wishing Dean would just come to him and save him the trouble, he opens his mouth to call out, but the words never leave his lips, instead they freeze in his throat with the sudden appearance of someone beside him.

_Sadie._

Instantly Dean and Bobby's defences go up, both aiming their weapons at her, although for some reason she doesn't seem to care, instead concentrating fully on Sam.

"Aw, baby, they hurt you," she states, her voice raw, pain evident in her tone. Sam smirks, a bitter satisfaction filtering over him at the sight of her punctured throat. Too bad it seems to be already healing. She gently grabs his arm, trying to assess the wound, but Sam roughly pulls away, ignoring the stabbing pain he receives from the movement.

He backs up, moving along the side of the van, still needing it for balance. "What do you want?" he growls, more than unhappy to see the demon, and noting that now that Dean's here, he's no longer afraid in her presence. His gaze flickers briefly to his brother, who remains still; weapon aimed in Sadie's direction, but to Sam's confusion, makes no attempt to help him. _Dean?_ His confusion turns to mild panic, his muddled head unable to draw a proper conclusion to his big brother's behaviour. _He's going to let her take me?! No, Dean wouldn't do that, no, he's got a plan._

Closing the distance, she steps forward but doesn't resume the physical contact. "You're angry at me, but I know what will cheer you up," the vampire turns to the older hunters, acknowledging their presence for the first time, "watching your brother die."

Sam glares at her like she's crazy, but before he gets a chance to express this, Dean cuts in.

"Yeah, I don't think so, I'm going to kill you for what you did to my brother," he pauses and stares straight at Sam, "then I'll deal with you."

Sam stares, completely dumbfounded by his big brother's words, a searing pain crushing down upon him. The bullet was kind of easy to ignore, it could have been an accident, and being Dean who shot it, it was pretty easy for the younger brother to chalk it up to a miss fire, but this he can't. Dean actually said it, well not in so many words, but 'deal with' is a fairly clear translation, and when taking the bullet hole in his shoulder into consideration, the evidence seems to be staked against him. Dean wants him dead, his big brother tried to kill him, and he's going to try again. Pausing amid his miserable conclusion, Sam suddenly hears his own words in his head, and with a small smile he realises how obscure they really are. Dean would never hurt him, much less kill him, there has to be an explanation for what's happening. And then it hits him.

---

Dean can feel a slight tremor in his hands, his mind feels kind of hazy with shock, did he really just tell his brother he would kill him? He knows it's a lie, he had his one shot, the one chance to kill the demon before it could look at him, and he blew it. It's Sammy, there's no way he can kill his baby brother. So instead he aimed for the shoulder, that way he could hurt the bastard, but not have to be the one to end its life.

Dean watches as a small smirk slips onto the lips of what once was his brother, but the smile doesn't repulse him, it doesn't scream an underlining evil; it's just simply... Sammy-like.

"Dude, I haven't been turned!"

Dean freezes, his mind turning completely blank, being unable to process the words just spoken to him.

_I haven't been turned._

_Haven't been turned._

Realisation fights its way in, swirling his brother's words round and round his head, trying to make sense of them, trying to make him respond. Finally a switch flicks on and this new information registers to the despondent hunter.

Sammy hasn't been turned, he's not gone! 

Happiness slips over him, the deep aching and failure that had settled over his beaten soul seems to lift away, making way for a relief and joy that he never thought he'd experience again. His emotions are instantly evident on his face, a smile breaking through the hours of frowns as he turns to focus on his not-dead little brother. He opens his mouth to say something, to speak to the brother he thought he no longer had, but he's at a loss of what to say, shock still numbing his proper response.

Dread suddenly shoots through him, almost drowning him in guilt, and quickly wiping the smile from his face. Now the words come to him, memories of what he just did, of what he almost did.

"Shit Sam, I, I shot you!" the older brother yells, his distress getting the better of him. He's not angry with Sam, but angry with himself, he should have known, he should have sensed it. Dean's tone becomes quieter, sorrow at his mistake choking the volume of his words, "why didn't you say something earlier?" Not giving his brother a chance to reply, he turns to Sadie, his anger suddenly refuelled, and this time pointed in the right direction, this is _her_ fault. "You told me you'd turned him!" He roars, wanting nothing more than to empty his barrel into her, to hear her screaming and to watch her quaver in agony as he delivers to her the slow death that she so desperately deserves.

Snatching Sam's arm, she quickly pulls the young hunter closer, an evil smirk gracing her lips. Dean can feel his blood boil, anger pours into his body, as he's forced to helplessly watch, knowing she's doing this intentionally, taunting him, caressing his brother's face just to watch his reaction. With every passing second he's sinking deeper into overprotective drive, his need to tear his little brother from the vampire's grasp forcing all rational thought and strategy out the window.

Taking a deep breath, he attempts to push back these feelings, he's got to concentrate, he can't let her put him off his game. The hunter knows he can't fire at her, not without risking shooting Sammy…again.

Guilt momentarily stuns him, shaking him to his core once more, and pushes his mind to places he doesn't want to go, but with trained control, the hunter managers to ram it aside, _not now, Sammy needs me now, _and concentrate on getting the demon away from his brother.

With a sinking dread, the big brother realises, that if he gets too close, within a split second she could snap Sam's neck, if she wanted to, but that's the thing, she doesn't seem to want him dead. That little fact is definitely something the older sibling can take comfort in, and maybe even use it to his advantage. This bitch has an attachment to his baby brother and she's not going to give him up without a fight. A small grin appears over the hunter's features, now that's something Dean will be more than happy to give her.

"Oh, but I did turn him, poor baby's just confused."

A twinge of terror grips Dean's heart and he quickly searches his brother's face, trying to determine if there's any truth in her words. He doesn't believe her, at least no really, not after what her lies nearly made him do. He just needs that simple reassurance that only Sam can bring, but the horror-filled confusion currently covering his brother's face is far from reassuring.

"Sam?" He hesitantly calls out at his brother's silence, trying anxiously to gain an answer, and steady his thumping pulse.

Sam wavers another few seconds, his own self-doubt, drilling holes of anxiety into Dean's slowly fraying nerves.

"No," he quietly mumbles, while slowly shaking his head, relief instantly soaking into the older brother. Sam turns to Dean, his fearful brown eyes locking with his brother's, "no, I, I'd know," he faces Sadie once more, suddenly sounding more confident. "You didn't turn me."

How Sam could be unsure to whether he's a vampire or not, Dean has no idea, he only knows that the drugs and blood loss are messing with his little brother, another of the many reasons that he needs to get Sam back. But he doesn't give it anymore thought; because Sammy's scared eyes are once again locked with his. His baby brother's frightened expression digging deep within him, nearly physically hurting him, and he knows the feeling won't go away, not until Sam's fear is wiped clear, not until Sammy's safely at his side. One final dose of rage spills into his veins, causing him to finally snap and lash out at his brother's captor.

Shoving Sam to the ground, Sadie takes the charging Dean head on, her fist tightly wraps around the weapon, aiming it away from her body, her other hand gripping his forearm and bringing up her leg, she knees him hard in the abdomen. Dean doubles over, but only for an instance as he plunges, head first into her, ramming her up against the van. Aware of Bobby behind approaching from behind him, he pulls back, letting the older hunter take aim, but before he gets the chance, Sadie zaps away.

"Bang!" Bobby fires, the bullet missing her by mere inches, instead harmlessly imbedding itself into then old van's exterior. The vampire sprints off towards the forest, not giving the older man the chance for a second shot, but at last second, Sadie turns to face the hunters. A devilish smile coats her features, one that Dean wishes so desperately he could wipe off, especially after the words that come tumbling from her mouth.

"He'll realise soon enough, he'll come to me, or I'll come back for him."

"Bang!" Bobby takes that second shot, and regardless of the distance or likelihood, Dean's inner voice is pleading for the sound of impact, but to his disappointment, she's quicker, fleeing amongst the trees, and disappearing into the dark.

For a few seconds no one moves, everyone letting the situation wash over them, before Dean snaps out of it and turns to his brother. Sam's sitting on the ground, gazing off to where Sadie had just departed, his expression unreadable.

"Sammy? Dean calls, instantly gaining the youngest Winchester's attention, a small tired smile now evident over his features.

Dean rushes to his side, concerned about the lack of colour in his brother's face. "You okay, Sammy?" he asks, his hands moving to the wound, adding pressure to try and stop the bleeding, all the while ignoring his uncontrollable guilt.

"Yeah, I'm fine," comes the raspy response, which even if it's a complete lie, it tells the older sibling, that yep, he's going to be fine.

Turning around to ask Bobby for help getting Sam to the car, he's surprised to find a hard set expression on the older hunter's face, but before he has the chance to ask, Bobby squats down next to the brothers. He reaches out to Sam and gently tilts the young hunter's head to the side, revealing a nasty set of puncture wounds on his neck.

A knife of terror plunges deep into Dean's heart, sound trickles wordlessly from his open mouth, trying desperately to form the question burning on his lips. The hunter is unable to tear his gaze away from the life changing wound clearly branded onto his baby brother's skin. _Sam hesitated, he didn't know, he wasn't sure if he had been turned, maybe, maybe... _

Dean's need for answers finally forces a reaction as he turns a petrified expression towards the older man.

"It, it doesn't mean anything, right?" He shakily enquires, the blood in the motel room soaking into his mind, reinforcing his frightening doubt with Sadie and Sam's own words.

Bobby doesn't reply, instead he releases Sam, who merely rolls his head onto his brother's shoulder, not even acknowledging that he understood or heard what was going on. The reaction, or rather the lack of one, only spurs on the big brother's swirl of emotions, the worry, and the guilt are instantly doubled but the most emphasised emotion running through the mind of macho Dean Winchester is fear. Fear of the reply he is about to receive from his fellow hunter.

Climbing back to his feet, Bobby signals Dean to do the same but is promptly ignored, the older sibling having no intention of removing the pressure from the wound, the wound _he_ inflicted on his baby brother. "You're going to have to tell me here, I'm not leaving him," Dean explains, his tone still wavering as he watches his brother's glazy eyes stare off into the distance, his pallor looking worse by the second.

Giving into the distressed brother's demand, Bobby attempts to explain his theory. "Dean she fed from him, but didn't kill him, when have you ever heard of a vampire doing that."

Not knowing how to counter the statement, Dean remains silent, his thoughts pondering over Bobby's choice of words, _she fed from him,_ causing all the pent up rage to come spilling to the surface.

"With the amount of blood she would have taken, Sam shouldn't be able to stand, let alone move around."

No longer able to contain himself Dean explodes, the stress of the last 24 hours, pouring out of him, and ramming directly into Bobby. "Does he look like he can move around?! You saw Sadie, I stabbed her in the throat and she's fine, but I shot Sam in the shoulder and he's dying, what move proof do you want!" As the words leave the older brother's mouth, their meaning registers causing a mad panic to rush over him.

"Sammy," he gently shakes his brother, trying to gain his attention as he realises that the younger man has become incoherent, but somehow seems to still be aware of Dean's presence beside him.

"Hmm?" Slightly lifting his head from its resting spot, Sam shifts his gaze towards his brother, his brow, coated in sweat and his eyes are unable to focus completely on Dean.

Dean sends a glare up to Bobby as Sam unknowingly emphasises his point.

The older hunter nods. "Alright then, I'll hotwire the van." He sprints off toward the other side of the old vehicle, leaving Dean to attempt to haul his barely responsive little brother to his feet.

"Time to move, Sammy," Dean grunts as he takes all of his 6'4 brother's weight into his arms.

"Ahh." A small painful groan escapes Sam's mouth, and Dean's attempts quickly die.

"Damn it," he mutters, gently lowering his brother back to the ground, "you ok Sam?" At Sam's silence Dean's worry escalates, the need for urgency becoming that much stronger, but he decides to wait for Bobby's help, not wanting to cause his little brother any extra harm.

Minutes later, the low rumble of an engine turns his attention from his brother, glancing up just as Bobby rushes round the side of the van and over to the Winchesters.

"Come on, let's get him up." Bobby carefully wraps his arm under Sam's good shoulder, and attempts to heave the younger man up. "Sam, you're going to have to help us out here and try to walk."

Sam doesn't respond but seems to have heard as he makes an effort to hold himself up on his feet, leaning heavily against Bobby. Dean remains at his brother's side, still holding the pressure over the wound with one hand, while the other rests on his brother's back, ready to grab him encase Bobby looses grip.

With a lot of difficulty, the hunters finally manage to haul the younger man into the back of the van, Dean climbing in moments later, and after switching on the dim, interior light, he slams the door closed.

Seconds later they're speeding off, and Dean finds himself moving closer to his brother, trying to lessen his movement, knowing that with every bump, new pain is jolting across Sam's body.

"Dean?" Sam calls out, his voiced whispered and strained.

Dean crouches down, even closer to his brother, readjusting his position to get a better hold over the wound and to better hear Sam's quiet tone. "Yeah Sammy?"

"My pl-plan worked."

"What plan was that?"

"To stay alive until, until you got here," he mumbles, closing his eyes and leaning back into Dean's shoulder.

"Sammy?" Dean freaks out as his brother begins to give into sleep. Tapping his face gently, he manages to coax Sam into opening his eyes once more, and wanting it to stay that way, he keeps up the flow of conversation. "You did good Sammy and you're going to do even better and stay alive until I die first, ok?"

A small smile appears over his worn features. "Sure Dean, alright."

Silence falls over them of, worry clouding the big brother's mind, stopping any form of conversation from reaching his lips, but thankfully he's saved the trouble, as Sam breaks through to his muted company.

"You, you do know I ha-haven't been t-turned don't you?"

"Well no Sam, I'm sitting here trying to keep you from bleeding out so that later you can turn me too," he grins, then a moment later frowns, realising that his sarcasm is wasted on his brother. "I was kidding Sam, it was a joke," he clarifies after seeing Sam's face drop. _Maybe I should have stayed quiet._

Sam blinks twice in quick succession, a dumbfounded stare appearing over his features "Oh. G-good," he hesitantly mumbles clearly still struggling to see the humour. "But, but you did think I had been turned…"

Guilt wells up inside Dean, suddenly feeling the ability to speak deserting him, leaving only his remorseful inner voice to scream into his head. _Surely he knows the answer to that! Didn't me shooting him give it away_? _God, I can't look him in the eye and tell him that._ If Dean tells Sam the truth, he's also telling his brother that he didn't trust him to look after himself, that he believed a demon over what was in front of his own eyes, that he had thought Sammy was evil and because of his stupidity, he nearly took his little brother's life. _I nearly killed him._

At his silence, Sam begins to pull away from his brother's grasp. "Sam?" Dean calls out, suddenly finding his voice, while trying to move with his brother in order to keep the wound covered. Sam grunts in pain as he attempts to twist his body around. "Hey, stop, just keep still Sammy." Moving in front of his brother, Dean managers to still him with one hand, gently grabbing his good, right arm, while keeping the other firmly placed over his still bleeding, left shoulder. Dean's guilt intensifies as he realises that he probably caused this reaction from his brother, and he can't help but also feel a twinge of hurt, _was he trying to get away from me?_

Sam seems to settle down, though wincing in pain every few seconds, his breath coming out in short pants. Hazel eyes stare into his green, a soft confusion settling within their depths as they study him, waiting expectedly for an answer to his earlier question. Instead Dean avoids it once again.

"Can I let you go now," Dean carefully asks, not wanting to risk Sammy hurting himself further, "you're not going to try and get away?"

Sam nods, though the lingering confusion floods out of his eyes, covering the rest of his face. "I, I wasn't, try, trying to get away," he breathlessly announces, a hint of a smirk now twitching at the corners of his mouth.

Dean let's go, his left hand coming to rest on Sam's leg and he slowly sinks to his knees, remaining in front of his brother. "Ok, that's good, so um, what was that all about then?"

"Couldn't, couldn't see you," Sam mutters, fatigue, lowering the volume of his words again, causing the younger Winchester to begin his descend into the clutches of unconsciousness.

'Sammy?" Dean immediately gives his brother's cheek a light slap, relief instantly filtering over him at gaining the wanted reaction; a displeased grunt and an annoyed glare being send in his direction. Wanting to keep his brother concentrating on the conscious world, Dean finally opts to answer the still awaiting question, guilt be damned.

"I did think you'd been turned," he blurts out, his eyes searching Sam's face trying to gauge his reaction to the news, but finds nothing in his expression, no disappointment, no looming betrayal, only understanding. "But only for about 15 minutes, after that bitch said she had," he pauses again, looking down at the result of his believing, the guilt almost taking his voice away once more. "I'm sorry Sammy."

"I kn-know, it's ok, t-they were going to, to turn me."

Several questions immediately spring to mind, but Dean holds them back, not wanting to upset his brother and thinking that a change of subject may be best.

"So Sammy, you going to ask me how my night went?"

Sam stares at him in disbelief, a smile cracking over his features. "N-no Dean, I'm really, r-really not." With the smile still plastered, Sam's head tips back, hitting the van's interior with a loud thud.

"Shit," Dean curses, moving swiftly to catch Sam's body as he slips unconscious to the floor, "Sammy?" Terror spikes through the older brother, numbing his senses so he almost doesn't notice the van come to a screeching haut.

Dean's vaguely aware of Bobby yelling, as seconds later the sliding door is swiped open revealing the older hunter and a younger man, presumably a doctor. He quickly climbs in and over to Sam, asking questions that don't quite reach the big brother's ears, but as a gurney pulls up outside and someone tries to pry Sammy from Dean's grasp, reality comes swooping in.

Reluctantly, he releases his brother, desperately attempting to swallow back the rising fear that his baby brother may have said his final words.

As Sammy's loaded onto the gurney, and quickly carted away, Dean runs alongside, his last glimpse of his little brother being a flash of stark white skin against the dark crimson pooling from his body. And as the doors close, once again separating the Winchesters, the older brother's left alone with the thought that he quite possibly aided or even caused his baby brother's death.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ok well this was supposed to be a three shot but it got too long. The final chapter will be up…I'd like to say soon, but who knows, it's written but not edited –which actually sometimes takes me longer, and mistakes still slip passed me! Oh well, no ones perfect.

Wait; did I just end on the possibility of Sam dying again? It seriously wasn't planned this way.

Thanks for reading!

vampyfreak


	4. Chapter 4

Random…yeah, sorry.

**Chapter 4:**

Sam sucks in a deep breath; consciousness hitting him like someone just dropped a particularly large book on his chest. "Ah," a small, gravely groan managers to escape his parched lips, the sudden intake of air sending flames of pain lapping across his shoulder and tearing down his neck. He arches his body up as though trying to lift it away from the pain, his foggy mind unable to focus or even begin to comprehend where he is or how he got there.

"Dean," he calls out, not really realising he did it, but a small part of his subconscious knowing it was only logical for his brother to be close. But he's not. Sam receives no answer, no big brother running instantly to his side, and that fact slowly begins to pull the hunter from his haze.

_Dean__'__s not here! _Sam blinks rapidly, trying to erase the blurriness from his eyes in an attempt to make out his surroundings. He searches his mind frantically trying to find an answer to what's going on, but time and time again he comes up blank. His fear isn't stilled in the slightest as the four white walls of a hospital room, come brightly screaming into his sight. _A hospital,_ _was Dean hurt too?_ Ignoring all pain flying through his exhausted body, the young Winchester, heaves himself into a sitting position, and tossing the covers off him, he swings his legs over the side of the bed. He's got to get out; he's got to find Dean.

Yanking the I.V roughly from his wrist, Sam climbs unsteadily to his feet, gripping the bed tightly to stop his shaky legs from giving out. Once satisfied that he's not doing to make a face dive, the hunter proceeds to take a few small steps towards the door, but quickly stops as dizzying nausea threatens to overcome him, sending his head into another spinning mess. Taking a few deep breaths, Sam waits for the world to stand still, his eyes scanning the wobbling room once again. His sight lands upon a duffle bag, and immediately confusion fills his mind. That's his duffle, did Dean bring it here? Carefully scuffing his feet along the ground, not wanting to make any sudden or quick moments, Sam reaches out to the bag, and opening it up is surprised to find his clothes in there, _maybe Dean has been here_. Sam turns around, giving the room another once over, looking for any sign that his brother had been there, but other than the bag, nothing stands out to the hunter's trained eyes.

Getting dressed while using only one hand –Sam's attempt at not jolting his shoulder- proved an extremely difficult and painful job, and he was very thankful by the time he finished that he still hadn't thrown up. Leaving the duffle where it lay, with the hospital gown discarded on top, the hunter begins his slow and cautious journey in search of his brother.

--------

Dean rubs a hand over his tired features; it's been a rough two days and the middle Winchester can't wait until they are finally over. Sammy has been in the hospital for a little under 24 hours now and is yet to wake. The doctor assured him that it was perfectly normal and that his brother will wake in his own time. Dean's never been one for waiting and no matter what the doctor says, _screw the medical degree_, the hunter knows he's not going to be happy, that he's not going to feel the slightest bit of relief until Sammy opens his eyes and Dean can take his baby brother out of here, away from this shit hole of a town, _and_ _far, far away from her._

The hunter is pretty eager to search for Sadie, he's still got to kill her and he can't wait to do it. It's his duty, he's got to show her you don't mess with a Winchester, he's got to enforce brutal punishment and he's going to find such delight in delivering it. Nothing, not demon or human, alive or dead can miss with his little brother and get away with it. It will forever stay that way, and just because Sadie got away this time does not mean that she'll keep her head next time they cross paths. Dean has Sam to worry about right now, getting him better, and then he can deal with the vampire bitch.

After their arrival at the hospital, Bobby had left the older brother in the waiting room, while he returned to the forest in search of Sadie. Needless to say he came up empty handed, she'd long gone, but that doesn't mean Dean can breathe easy. Once they'd taken Sam out of surgery, which to the big brother's relief went extremely well, the bullet missing any main arteries, Dean was too afraid to leave Sam's side. A hospital isn't a private place, a vampire doesn't need to be invited in, which means Sammy is vulnerable here, she can easily get to him. Good old Bobby came up with a solution to that problem with a simple protection spell on the threshold, -Dean would have preferred salt, but that's not as subtle and would no doubt draw unwanted attention.

That brings Dean back to the reason he is currently walking towards Sam's room, having just gone to retrieve the Impala and parted ways with Bobby. Whether the older hunter is returning home, or tracking Sadie, Dean doesn't know, but he secretly hopes it's the former, wanting the glory of her death on his name. He'd felt comfortable enough to leave a few times, but only briefly, returning to their motel to grab a shower and pick up Sam's clothes, going on half a dozen coffee trips, and of course saying his goodbyes and thanks to Bobby. But every time he walks into Sam's room, he finds himself self-consciously holding his breath, why, he's not really sure, but maybe he's just being paranoid thinking he might walk in to find Sam dead or dying again. He's knows that it can't happen, the spell can keep demons out, and now that Sam's had a blood transfusion he's not in a life threatening condition anymore.

Strolling straight through the door, the hunter once again repeats his subconscious action, but this time, to his absolute horror, he finds himself unable to let his breath go.

"Sammy?" Rushing further into the room, the older brother immediately checks the bathroom, praying that Sam's just woken up and that he'll pop his shaggy head around the door wondering what all the fuss is about. But no such luck. Panic grips him, his mind screaming at him to breathe, but his body not complying. _She got him, oh god, she took him!_ His eyes dart frantically round the room and come to a stop on the hospital gown. Dashing over to the clothing item, he picks it up, instantly noticing the empty duffle underneath. _Sam left. _

"_He__'__ll realise soon enough, he__'__ll come to me, or I__'__ll come back for him.__"_ Sadie's words ring through the older brother's head, taunting him with a horrifying truth. _No, he was fine, he wouldn__'__t do that. _The scared brother tries to rationalise his thoughts, he can't believe that Sam would just leave, not after how happy he was that Dean found him. No, there has to be another reason. His eyes catch the discarded I.V tube and the truth hits him. Sammy's still hurt, he woke up alone, he's probably still groggy from the drugs the doctor pumped into him, and maybe he was scared. Guilt floods into Dean as he realises he should have been there when Sam woke up, but he doesn't have time to dwell. Feeling kind of light-headed, the hunter finally takes in a deep breath and speeds off down the corridor.

It doesn't take him long to find his brother. Relief sweeps through him as he takes in Sam's tall figure hunched up in one of the chairs along the deserted corridor. His relief however is short-lived as he notices the intense stare his brother his giving his hand, watching with some kind of fascination as the blood from where the I.V was pulled out trickles down his fingers.

"Sammy?" Dean calls out, effectively grabbing his brother's attention, the blood instantly forgotten.

"Dean!" Sam smiles up at his brother, but makes no move to climb to his feet. "I was looking for you."

Dean takes a seat next to Sam; unable to hide his amused grin at his brother's doped up, child-like tone.

"Well you found me, you ok Sammy?"

Sam nods his head, the smile still firmly in place. "I got tired."

"Well let's get you back to bed then." Dean stands, and holds out his hand to heave Sam up.

Sam just stares blankly at the offered hand, then back up at Dean, the smile replaced by a look of confusion.

"Shit Sammy, what'd they give you?"

Sam shrugs his shoulders, causing Dean to involuntarily flinch, but Sam seems unfazed by the movement. _No wonder he__'__s dopey if he couldn__'__t feel that_, rolling the very shoulder that has the gun shot wound that Dean inflicted.

"It hurt, I sat down cause it hurt," Sam explains, as though reading Dean's unspoken question, although more than likely he's just blurting out random information.

Dean frowns, and takes his seat once more. "But it doesn't now?"

"Nope, can't feel a thing," and as to emphasise his point, the younger hunter, pokes two fingers hard against the wound.

"Whoa, don't do that," Dean grabs his brother's hand, preventing him from repeating the action, "I believe you."

"Mr. Dorman!" A worn looking man calls from down the hall, immediately rushing towards the brothers. "You gave us quite a scare there," Sam's doctor explains, obviously having met the same empty bed as Dean.

"Yeah, sorry about that Doc, he went looking for me," Dean fills in at Sam's lack of reply, as the younger man just stares silently at the stranger in front of him.

"I'm a bit surprised myself, the nurse only gave him something for the pain a few minutes ago, but I'm guessing it's kicked in now?"

"Oh yeah." Dean spares another glance at his zoned out sibling, "definitely kicked in."

The doctor leans down in front of Sam, causing the younger man to instantly pull away, his back, hitting the seat with a hard thump.

Dean's arms quickly restrain his brother, worried that any more impact could agitate his wound. "Easy Sammy, he just wants to check you out," Dean coaxes, surprised by the sudden action.

At Dean's words, Sam's gaze drops from the doctor to a spot on the floor, and his tense muscles relax against his big brother's grip. Slowly Dean releases him, and let's the doctor look over him.

"Alright, well, from what I can see he seems to be fine, but we'll need to keep him in longer to monitor the bullet wound, and the police are going to want to talk to him."

Dean nods, knowing full well they are not going to be sticking around for the cops. They'd already had a chat with him, and he'd simply told them he'd found Sam like that. He's not sure if they actually brought it, but who cares, they can think what they like.

"Does he need some prescription meds?"

"Yes he will, but I'll give you all that when we are ready to discharge Sam."

"Can I have it now, so I can have them ready for him when he gets out?" The doctor looks as though he's about to refuse, so Dean puts on his best exhausted, hopeful expression, which actually isn't that fake, and the doctor relents.

"Alright, but we'll get Sam here back to bed first." He makes a move to grab Sam's arm, but again the youngest Winchester pulls away, casting an icy glare towards the doctor.

"You might be lying."

"Excuse me?" The doctor asks, looking generally taken aback by the accusation.

"Drugs first, then I'll go," Sam commands, leaving no room for argument.

Again Dean tries to hide his amusement, especially after the confused glance he receives from the doctor.

The man in question hesitantly nods, and leaves under his patients orders.

"Little bit of a junkie there, dude?"

Sam turns to look at him, a smile once again on his face, probably not hearing a word Dean just said, or else not understanding. The older brother just shakes his head, a genuine laugh escaping his lips.

Minutes later the doctor returns and hands Dean the prescription, which he quickly pockets. The older man's sight flicks between the two brothers, but this time, he makes no movement towards Sam.

After a moment of silence, the Doc finally speaks, "so, we should get him to bed now," he tells Dean, thinking better of talking to Sam.

At this, the youngest sends another death glare, making Dean wonder why his brother has taken such a dislike to the man trying to help him. The doctor gets the message.

"Are you alright with him, do you need me to help?"

"Na, we'll be right, won't we Sammy?"

"Yep," he replies, his tone tight with anger, _note to self, do not piss doped up Sammy off. _

The doctor forces a smile to his face. "Alright, I'll send a nurse into assist when you've got him back." And with that he walks off, probably more than happy to get away from his ungrateful patient.

"Can we go now?"

Dean studies his little brother, he still appears exhausted, and he's way too pale for Dean's liking, but it'll be so much easier to look after him back at the motel. "Yeah I guess, it'll be easier to skip out on the hospital bills."

"Good." Sam immediately moves to stand up now that he has his own way, and Dean quickly jumps to his own feet as he notices the gentle swaying of Sam's body, making him rethink his decision to leave. But Sam's already moving towards the elevator, and if this is how it's going to be, Sam deciding what he wants and just going, it really is in both brothers' best interest to go. There's no way Dean wants to lose track of Sam again.

"Wait!" His brother's voice snaps him from his thoughts.

"What?"

"You forgot my duffle," Sam declares as though it's some great sin.

"Forget it, it's empty now anyway," Dean tries to convince him, wondering how the hell he managed to remember the bag, when everything else in his head seems to be a complete mess.

No, go get my duffle," Sam orders, taking on the same tone he used on the doctor, only not as harsh.

Dean blinks at him, completely dumfounded. "Sammy, are you serious?"

The younger sibling pauses as though really considering his answer, but soon a smile forms on his face and he quickly shakes his head. "No."

Dean rolls his eyes, "you know at times like this, having a camera handy would be great," he mumbles under his breath, guiding his brother into the lift, and onwards to the Impala.

The ride back was hell; for once it was Dean who switched off the radio. Sam had decided that he could sing better so preceded to prove it, but not knowing half the words, he just slurred along, singing louder every time he actually knew a word.

Helping Sam into the motel, Dean lowers him onto a bed, where Sam instantly sprawls out, exhaustion finally getting the better of him and within seconds he's out.

Dean smirks down at his brother's sleeping form, thankful for the peace and quiet, and vowing never to let his brother near heavy duty painkillers again, at least not the syringe filled kind, he amends, pulling out the doctor's prescription. He should probably get these now why Sam's still asleep, but the older brother is suddenly very reluctant to leave. Last time he left and Sam woke up, he decided that going to look for Dean was a good idea, and by no means does the middle Winchester want to come back and find his brother gone again. Once was enough, and three times is far too many. But will it be worse if he leaves it and Sam wakes up in agony tomorrow? Signing in frustration, he quickly salts all the windows and the door, and scribbles a note to Sam, placing it right on the bedside table so he can't miss it. Hopefully that will prevent anything from getting in and Sam from getting out.

Driving now in silence, Dean's left with only his thoughts. While waiting for Sam to get out of surgery and then waiting even longer for him to wake up, the older brother hadn't allowed himself to think. He'd been constantly trying to keep his mind busy, whether filling out hospital forms, talking to Bobby or playing revenge scenarios in his head, Dean hadn't let himself think about what happened, about what he'd done. He couldn't allow himself to feel self-pity, not while Sammy was hurt, not while he needed him. But now it's over, and all he's left with are his thoughts.

He hurt Sammy; he shot his little brother. At the time Sam didn't seem to care, too happy that his brother was actually there. That thought only excels his guilt; Sam had been with those demons, knowing his only hope is that Dean will find him, praying for nothing more then to see his brother's face, and finally he got his wish, Dean was there, everything would be ok. And then he shot him. He never wants to know what was going through his brother's head in that moment, the shock and the absolute betrayal looming in his mind. Of course he'd experienced the same thing, his little brother had shot him, but that was a different situation. Sam wasn't himself, even if some of those feelings were real, the action was by no means something that Sam could be capable of, or even think about doing.

Pulling up to drug store, Dean climbs out of the Impala, marching quickly into the shop. He wants to get back to Sam as soon as possible, still not completely comfortable with leaving the younger man alone, salt or not.

Not ten minutes later, Dean quietly opens the door to the motel, once again subconsciously holding his breath. Relief swarms through him at the sight of his baby brother still fast asleep on the bed. Releasing his breath, he takes a seat on the opposite bed, carefully studying Sam's features, checking for any sign of distress or discomfort, and happy to find none.

In a matter of hours Sam will be awake again, awake and coherent, which means he's going to remember everything that happened. While blissfully ignorant in his drugged up state, that will all change, having long since worn off by the time consciousness reclaims him. Dean knows that he's going to have to talk to Sam about what happened with the vampires, to find out if he has any idea where Sadie would have fled. It's hard to imagine that Sam was so drugged up that he couldn't remember anything of what happened. If a vampire sucks out your blood, surely that's going to be something that'll scar in your mind, no matter what your condition, but apparently not. Maybe that's for the best; Sam didn't need to remember that bitch in his state, hell the doctor was making him nervous.

Dean's mind flicks back to the forest, to the moment just before he shot Sam. He was watching while that female vamp was all over his little brother, and Sam just let her. He didn't pull away, he didn't try to push her back, it's liked he'd given up. Maybe he had tried to get away, the blood loss was probably messing with him. But the way he just stared up at the sky, his face a void of any expression, it scared Dean then, almost like it confirmed his fear, that his Sammy was actually gone, and replace by something that wasn't human. Looking back at it now, it still scares Dean, his face was so vacant, had he given up, was he just going to let those vamps do whatever they wanted to him? It doesn't sound like something Sam would do, and in any other situation Dean would have simply dismissed the theory, but this was different, that stare was different. While at the hospital, in one of the many moments when Sam had spaced out, he'd just stare at one spot, looking just as vacant. Maybe he did remember, maybe it has something to do with his reaction to the doctor; being around strangers and not knowing their true intentions. Hopefully there will be no long term effects, no emotional scars, and that he'll get over whatever mistrust issues he was earlier displaying. Dean can only guess until Sam wakes up and fills in the blanks.

Lying back on his bed, he closes his eyes; words swirling around in his mind, not being able to believe Sammy would let himself die.

"_My plan worked.__"_

"_What plan was that?__"_

"_To stay alive until you got here.__"_

No, he was wrong, Sam never gave up.

--------

A burning pain heaves Sam from the comfy darkness of sleep, piercing light, cutting its way into his dark familiar eyes, momentarily blinding him from his surroundings. He bits his lip, not waiting for the room to settle or the throbbing pain to calm; he pushes his body into a sitting position, his eyes unseeingly sweeping the area. A soft snoring reaches his ears, drawing his attention to a blurry figure lying still in a bed opposite him. "Dean?" he calls out, his instincts telling him he's right, but he needs to be sure.

Instantly the figure stirs, and shoots upright. "Sammy?"

A sigh of relief escapes the hunter's mouth at the sound of his brother's voice. He can't seem to grasp why it was so important that his brother be there, but the relief's there all the same.

Dean climbs out of the bed, and grabs something from the table, as well as a bottle of water, and sits down on the bed next to Sam. "Here, take these," he holds out two pills and unscrews the water, handing it to Sam as well. "How're you feeling?"

Sam blinks rapidly, trying to clear his vision before he takes the meds and water, gulping them back quickly. Handing the bottle back, he squints at the face in front of him, finally able to make out his brother's worried expression.

"I'm alright."

Dean appears unsatisfied by the reply but nods all the same. "Do you know what happened?"

Sam stares at his brother, random thoughts racing through his head, his memory trying to put together the pieces. "Sadie," he pauses, more memories floating back, "oh, I'm alive."

Dean gives him a strange look, which Sam can't seem to process. "You could sound a little more enthusiastic there, Sammy."

"I am, it's just, man, you left it a little late didn't you," Sam jokes, but suddenly turns serious at the glum, guilt filled grimace on Dean's features. "You ok?"

"I shot you."

"So, I shot you," Sam counters, Dean doesn't need to explain himself, he gets it, "besides, it's not like you tried to kill me, since when do you miss?"

Dean just nods, clearly having more to say but not wanting to deepen the fast approaching chick-flick moment.

"What about Sadie," Sam asks, attempting to tug his brother's thoughts away from their path of guilt, "did you get her?"

A dark shadow passes over Dean's face. "No," he replies, a heavy determination settling over his tone, "not yet."

"Can't remember anything after you showed up," Sam admits, wondering if he missed anything important. The whole incident, is blurry in Sam's mind, he can only remember small pieces of what happened. He remembers meeting Sadie at the club, he remembers fighting her at the motel, her friends, and Dean shooting him, but everything after that moment is a complete blur, he can't recall anything, he's not even sure how much time has past since then.

"Not much to tell, just heaved your heavy ass to the car, and then back here after you woke up at…" Dean suddenly stops talking, as though something's just occurred to him, causing Sam to look up and meet his brother's gaze, watching as a cheeky smirk spreading its way over his face. "Hey, Sammy, want to watch a video?" He pulls his cell phone from his pocket, taking all too much joy in handing it over to his brother. "Just a little something from the ride here."

Dean watches in delight as his little brother's expression goes from curious suspicion to completely horrified, and he can't help but laugh at Sam's expense.

It's pretty clear that Sam can't recall Sadie's departing words; he probably didn't even hear them. The older brother knows that he should tell him, but the part of him that just wants to protect his little brother in any way he can, won't let him. He can't add to Sam's growing list of worries, especially with the vampire's vague words.

"_He__'__ll realise soon enough, he__'__ll come to me, or I__'__ll come back for him.__"_

But Dean won't let that happen. He'll kill her the moment he spots her, Sadie will not get anywhere near his baby brother again. And that's a promise.

--------

Music thumps heavily through the small club, strobe lights flickering sharply across the room, highlighting the many bodies cramped together on the dance floor. A lone figure strolls casually across the room, taking in all the sights and smells that assault their senses. Finally their eyes come to rest on another unaccompanied figure, a man sitting silently at the bar, nursing some half full beverage. Slowly the figure makes their way over to the man, and stepping up to the dimly lit bar, a ruthless smirk can be seen, spreading its way over her pretty features.

"Hi," she greets. The man turns around and instantly the cocky smirk is replaced with a small, timid smile. "Do you mind if I sit with you?"

_--_

_And as these days watch over time_

_And as these days watch over us tonight_

_I__'__ll never let them, I__'__ll never let them_

_I__'__ll never let them hurt you now tonight_

_I__'__ll never let them, I can__'__t forget them_

_I__'__ll never let them hurt you, I promise._

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Finished! It's like one of those annoying horror movie endings lol. I really had fun writing this! I hope everyone enjoyed it, please let me know what you think.

Upcoming fic:

**Darko** summary: 16-yr-old Sam woke up one day to find the world slightly different. His room's the same, but the blood is new, the living room's similar, if not for the corpse, and his brother's talking to him, but he can't hear a word. Because the screaming's too loud, it's too loud, and it won't stop.

Interested? Darko was inspired by its namesake, Donnie Darko, but is nothing like it - basically Sam can see into a hell dimension that overlaps our own, so from Dean and John's perspective he appears insane. (Already written two chapters but I'm not posting until it's finished). Let me know what you think.

Bye for now!

vampyfreak


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